Different Taste……..Different People

Food means different things to different people. I find you can tell much about a person by their favorite foods. My favorite food, homemade hamburgers with sautéed onions, says a lot about me. It is a simple and inexpensive meal to make and yet it is hearty at the same time. Growing up my family had homemade hamburgers twice a week for as long as I can remember. My mom worked at White Castle for over 15 years before I was born. When she made her hamburgers, she slow cooked them for almost 45 minutes. They were so juicy and well worth the wait. Over the years, what I put on my hamburgers has changed frequently. I experimented with ketchup, mustard, tomatoes, pickles, pickle relish, mayo and even bbq sauce. Now when I make my own almost 1/2 pound burgers, I love adding a slice of tomato and of course sautéed onions. There is no better smell to me than onions slowly sauteing on the stove. My favorite food, like me, is simple and inexpensive. I also have other favorites like spaghetti, Italian beef, tilapia, chicken Marsala and steak. I consider myself a well-rounded individual as my taste in foods will show.

My daughter is going to graduate with a culinary degree next month. Food is her passion, especially pastry. Her favorite food three meat spaghetti reminds me of her. She is a very complex person who is very emotional and loving. The three meats in her favorite dish (hamburger, pork and veal) symbolize her three main emotions happy, mad and sad. The many ingredients that go into the making of the spaghetti contribute to the end result of a culinary masterpiece. Just as the many emotions and aspects of my daughter contribute to her being a beautiful yet complex person. My daughter for the longest time would not try new foods. She ate the same things all the time and constantly fought change. When she entered culinary school she was forced to try all the foods they made. She was against this at the beginning, but now she embraces new food with relish. (not the food either)

When my daughter is coming home for an extended break, the talk of what she will be eating and baking while home begins way earlier. This time she is home for a week. While she is home I will be making tilapia, Italian beef, sloppy joes, mostaccioli, macaroni and cheese, fried chicken and of course steak. We will also be going out for her favorite pizza, Aurelio’s, while she is home. While she does help me with the dinners, baking is her specialty. She is trying out a new Dr. Pepper cake this week. She will also be baking white chocolate macadamia nut cookies and cream cheese and strawberry filled cupcakes. (which are to die for) She baked her own cakes for her bridal shower. She made four different varieties of angel food cake all with homemade frosting. We tend to eat basic and simple foods because that is who we are. Five star restaurants are foreign to us. We are more the diner/dive sort of people. We love camping and barbecuing in the summer. There is nothing like an ear of corn fresh off the grill, or a freshly grilled burger with just the right seasonings. Some people think that food needs to be expensive or cooked in a fancy way to be good. We are not those people, we will take ordinary any day of the week.

Which brings me to my son-in-law. His take on food is plain is best. Everything he eats has to be plain. He loves chicken nuggets but would never think of using sauce with them. All hot dogs, hamburgers and sandwiches are plain. He is not a plain person to me, but instead a very straight forward one. You never have to wonder what is on his mind because he will tell you. He is very opinionated and does not have any problem sharing his views with the world.

Nor do we have two heads or carry leprosy. We walk among you unnoticed until normal little everyday things force us to fall apart in public and reveal ourselves. This is my place to vent my frustrations, wallow when I need to and discover a new future because the unthinkable did happen and my husband died suddenly at 38 leaving me and our two little babies under the age of two behind.